Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha calls for State-wide Protest

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA: In protest against the BJP government’s move to divide tea tribes in the approved framework of granting ST status along with five other ethnic communities, the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), along with other allied organizations, has called for State-wide protest on Wednesday and the day will be marked as ‘Protarana Divas’, stated a press release of ACMS.

It also alleged that the BJP government’s move to marginalize 72 communities out of total 108 tea tribe groups was an attempt to create division amongst the tea tribe communities.

Raju Sahu, former Chabua MLA and vice-president of ACMS, said that the BJP government had proposed to grant ST status only to 36 tea tribe groups, some of which did not exist in Assam. Besides there could not be any justification to discriminate the exploited and deprived tea tribes who were brought to Assam from different parts of India to develop the tea industry, Sahu alleged. He also criticized the BJP government for playing political game involving tea tribe communities.

With the very existence of tea tribes at stake, the joint convention held at ACMS central office Dibrugarh resolved to fight unitedly for ST status against the BJP government and called upon all organizations like ACMS, ATTSA, AASA and Jatiya Mahasabha to make the programme successful, the release added.

Also Read: Government trying to divide Adivasis: Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha